Showers of God's Grace

"The Lord sustains all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in due time. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him."
Psalm 145:14-16, 18.

I wish all of you could have been there. The moment was so sweet; we stood together, holding hands, and I prayed for the new mom and her baby, for her example to be godly, and for a hedge of protection around her family. As I said "Amen" the tiny voice of her four-year-old son continued, "Thank you Jesus, for my new little sister, and for my mom. AMEN." Out of the mouths of babes....may he grow to be a man after God's own heart.
There are so many opportunities to see God's hand work in the lives of guests and volunteer missionaries alike at Forest Park Ministry Center. The work is not easy; stories that we hear are heartwrenching. But through it all, God's hand covers all, meets the need, and provides His Hope for hurting and lost people.

This month, the numbers of families seeking assistance rose dramatically. It is a sobering reminder that "the poor are always with us." The work will never cease, until Christ returns! So here are some current stats, and then following, read about the ways that new ministry will be accomplished this summer!

Number of families assisted in April: 139 - 32% were new guests of the center.
This represented 335 family members helped.

There were THREE professions of faith - Praise the Lord! - Please pray for them as they begin their new life in Christ, to follow through with public profession and plugging into a church for discipleship and spiritual growth.

3,536 pounds of food distributed to the families.

Please pray for "Danielle" who so sincerely shared with me (during a home visit to see her and her newborn baby) about her desire for her child to attend finish school. She only finished 9th grade, and truly regrets it. But she is working, and is trying to juggle motherhood, work, and GED classes. Pray for her to look to the Only Source, Jesus Christ, as Her Lord and guide in life.

"Danielle's" story is all too familiar. Choices made early that you regret, but you live with the consequences, sometimes for the rest of your life. Pray for cycle of generational poverty to stop with this generation.

This summer, there are at least four new ministry opportunities:
1. Ashley Loomis, a busy home-school Mom from Heritage, has a heart for teaching children healthy and safe ways to prepare food. Many children in the Southlawn Commons and Sherwood Apartment complexes have to prepare their own dinner, because Mom is out of the home in the evening, often working late shifts. Ashley is teaching cooking classes on Wednesdays for kids at the Molina Center (located inside Southlawn Commons), beginning in June. Pray for her and her volunteers as they reach children in this creative way. If you feel led to help with this ministry, email or call and let us know, so we can plug you in!

2. Ann Bush, Mom and career woman, and passionate about teaching Conversational English to Mixtec Moms in the Forest Park neighborhood, will begin classes for these Moms in June at the center on Thursdays. Please pray for Ann and her assistant Evelyn in this incredible opportunity to reach those marginalized in our society because of language barriers.

3. Stories from the Porch is a weekly story hour with related activites for Forest Park neighborhood children. Each Thursday afternoon this summer, children will gather in the front yard of Forest Park Ministry Center to hear a story that shares the truth of Christ's love, and to have activities that reinforce His truth. Pray for the youth from Eastern Hills and Heritage and other churches who will participate in reaching these children each week.

4. In July, MissionServe will send a construction team to the ministry center to construct the multipurpose room (the enclosure of the carport area). We are so excited about having this addition to our facility in the future for classes and groups at the center, as well as for receiving donations during service days.

Speaking of MissionServe, PLEASE consider participating in the MissionServe Banquet in November. You will be treated to a wonderful meal, testimonies and information about MissionServe, and you will be supporting a ministry that is already reaching out to this ministry!!!!! More details to follow.....

Have a blessed May. Mother's Day is this weekend, and I'm reminded of what a blessing it is to have a godly mom who has been an example of being God's vessel. Thanks, Mom, and thank you, God, for my mom. Blessings to all of you.

Generation to Generation

What a wonder to see my son holding his newborn son! It stirs an emotion in me that reminds me of God's goodness and the miracle of His creation. A new grandchild, two weeks old yesterday, and he is just adorable! He is a reminder of how God has such a perfect design for His grace and goodness to extend from generation to generation.

God's grace and goodness from generation to generation - a passionate desire of those who minister through Forest Park to see in the lives of guests of the center and their families. Please allow me to share some hopeful stories with you.

"Amy" is a young student at a local school where our volunteers tutor. Her family has recently experienced a tragedy in the near death of her father. Thankfully, he will recover; but for weeks, we could not put our finger on what was causing such a gloomy disposition in this ordinarily happy and jubilant child. Prayer for her and her family prior to entering the school and showing her specific concern about what she needed to concentrate on and learn - in other words, just knowing someone cares about her - is showing results. Today, she smiled and even asked to work on a new area that needs improvement!

C. is just one of many mothers who are desperately praying for their children to resist the temptation of the streets. Even for Christian families, the pressures that are present in the everyday lives of children and adults alike are intense, and for children in poverty, the presence of criminal activity in stressed neighborhoods is a constant concern for their parents. Pray for parents like C who are striving to show their children Christ's way, and to break the cycle of unhealthy and sinful choices.

Here's more hope: a local group of concerned Christians is cooperatively working on a community garden in Montgomery - on the corner of Holt and Emerson Streets. This will be a valuable tool to both demonstrate and encourage growing and eating healthy foods, and also to foster cooperation among people in a constructive project. And when they ask, "Why would you do this for us?", the answer is, "Because Christ's love compels us to."

And COMPLETE - an awesome experience that I was so blessed to be a part of, showed me that there are young women in the youth generation that have a passion for Christ and sharing His love with others. Thank you, girls, for allowing me to be blessed by you during COMPLETE.

This summer, Forest Park Ministry Center will be abuzz with activity in addition to the twice weekly food and clothing assistance. Each week, "Summer Stories from the Porch" will feature a great story told and fun related activities for the children in the neighborhood. Also each week, Mixtec Moms who want to learn Conversational English will have classes being taught by church members who have been trained specifically for that purpose. In addition, a Mission Serve team is coming to the center in July to construct the addition to the center so direly needed! God is so good, and we are relying on Him to provide the materials needed - we have enough for phase I, and are looking now to raise funds for the interior phase.

A summary of the work in March 2010: 109 guests of the center, representing 252 family members, but only 17% new guests. One guest had a very dire need, and thanks to two of our MBA churches, her family was able to have a funeral for their infant that passed away unexpectedly. Nearly 1.5 tons of food was distributed, and even more importantly, prayers were lifted on behalf of those who visited. It was a great time in the Lord, and April is looking great, too! Keep praying for these families, and for Christ's hope of Abundant Life to be realized in the hearts and minds of families everywhere.

Finally, please put on your calendars a fundraiser for MissionServe. The date is November 9, and you will receive a wonderful dinner, information and testimony about this incredible organization. MissionServe is the group coming to Forest Park Ministry Center to construct the addition to the center, along with members of MBA churches. The event on November 9 will be at Mt. Hebron West Baptist Church in Elmore County. Hope to see you there!

God Moments

I have a dear friend who is in community ministry that is so sensitive to those times when God is working. She calls these God moments, and she has pointed me to an awareness of those times when you can only say, Ah, God; He's sooooo gooooood. This month we experienced some of those times - like the day when I arrived at the center after a long day of being alongside my husband having an outpatient medical test - I mean, you know how long you wait for those things, right? But just as I arrived, two expectant mothers - one who came to the center and another who called to talk - were needing that someone to talk to, to encourage them, to pray with them. God just takes my weariness and shows me His grace. I am humbled to be witness to His work.
Earlier this month, students from Lee High School collected food and youth from Eastmont delivered it to the center. What a joy to see youth reaching beyond themselves! ACA did the same - and a teen from ACA and Heritage is volunteering at the center, too, along with other teens that will be coming this summer.
Just this week, the G.A.s from Snowden Baptist came to the center to help sort and label cans with Bible verses. Earlier, they had made Valentine boxes for a young family whose children would not have had Valentines for school otherwise, and before that, had purchased and assembled items for a layette for a newborn baby. How sweet that these young ladies have caught a missions vision; and a huge thank you to their leader, Tammy Rolling, who has such a heart for missions.